USC ranked No. 2 in a CBS top 10 list — but it's not about 2026

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USC football isn’t hated or feared these days under Lincoln Riley. That’s because the Trojans have failed to become great again. When USC football is elite, that’s when the haters come out. CBS Sports recently produced a list of the 10 most hated single-season teams of all time — not just a school, but a specific year in which that school was especially loathed. USC’s 2005 team not only made the cut but came in at No. 2 on the list:

“As this was being put together with input and dialogue with other colleagues, one colleague questioned the level of hate associated with the Trojans during the Pete Carroll era with the Heisman tandem of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. Hopping in the time machine and circling back to the not-so-distant past, the truth is, every other elite program wanted to be USC, but none had two Heisman winners on their respective rosters capable of taking over games at any moment.

“This USC team squashed the competition and featured one of the most explosive offenses of all time, scoring 50 or more points seven times. Everyone knew about the win streak, and East Coasters were often glued to TVs every Saturday for late-night action when the Pac-10 was still a thing! My college football viewing life only spans three decades or so with vivid memories, but USC-Texas had the biggest buildup of any BCS title game, and it delivered as Vince Young and the Longhorns won in the closing seconds, snapping USC’s 34-game run at the top.”

The hate for USC came from the Trojans’ excellence and swagger. It was also furthered by ESPN proclaiming that team as the best of all time before — not after — the 2006 Rose Bowl. The Trojans couldn’t control what ESPN did or said, but USC fans would have wished ESPN had kept its mouth shut and not given Texas bulletin-board material.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Only one college team is more hated than 2005 USC football was

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